Blogs from Jerusalem, Jerusalem District, Israel, Middle East - page 50

David here. Rabbi Hachen will be back tomorrow. Today was another incredible day with sunshine all day long. We were on the run from the very start. We heard speakers about the success and struggles of Reform Judaism and I was very proud as Rachel received a mounted certificate acknowledging the Butterflies she collected from our Religious school. There is a program here where they are trying to collect 1.5 million drawn paper butterflies, decorated by children to remember that same amount of children who perished in the Holocaust. While this is not a pleasant subject it is gratifying to see my daughter begin to learn the importance of not forgetting this horrible time. From there we went to the old city and before going to the Jewish quarter we saw the place that is recognized ... read more

Well it's that time of year when one pigs out and gets merrily pissed. I'd like to wish a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year to all my family, friends, workmates, fellow travellers and bloggers. It kind of felt appropriate that I spent the lead-up to the holiday season in the Holy Land. I loved walking around the different quarters (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Armenian) in the Old City of Jerusalem. Most of the religious activity centres around the Temple Mount area where the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock are located. Also took a trip into Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. It was eerily quiet with nary a tourist in sight. Normally there would be heaps at this time of year. Possibly people have been scared away by the huge security fence ... read more

לפני שאנחנו הולכים לאכול אוכל מוזר ולא מוכר במשך תקופה כל כך ארוכה התמקמנו, עדי, אני ומשפחת דגן המורחבת במסעדה טובה בתל אביב, שנזכור איזה אוכל טוב אנחנו מפסידים...... read more

Jerusalem is a very spiritual place, where religions from all around the world meet and share a common interest in the holy land. you sense a wierd tension in the air, and some people even fall into what they call "Jerusalem Syndrome", where they get overwelmed by the spritualness of the place and find their whole life adopts a new direction inline with their calling from God. I loved it. not only are there people from all over the world and a lot of history and culture and things happening... but it's a beautiful city built entirely out of Limestone blocks(its law) so even the new buildings look like they'd fit into any scene from a biblical movie. everyone seems to be in a good mood too, which is always nice. I couple of weeks for ... read more

OK, yes I'm aware this blog is a little late, but I was busy actually doing travelling, as opposed to sitting in front of a computer, so hence the delay. Sorry to all the people who thought I died since my travelblogs just ended abruptly. Anyway, regarding Israel. My first stop in Israel was Eilat, subsequent to crossing the land border from Jordan, which in itself was quite an interesting experience. Exiting Jordan was routine, afterwards I was required to walk down across the no-mans land through a narrow corridor with barbed wire fence on either side of me and completely exposed to Israeli sniper fire should they have chosen to fire on me. I then went through an exhaustive search of my bags, in which they were run through the x-ray machine at least four ... read more